BUILDING AQUARIUMS WITH PLEXIGLASS
THIRTY GALLON CUTTING TANK
Source: Reef Aquarium Farming News – issue # 22 November 1998
Last month, before the seminar, I received so many calls from people who were bringing new sps
corals for the genetic bank that I decided to build a cutting tank for my office. This aquarium had to fit in
the space between my 150 gallon reef and the wall. I decided to make the aquarium from Plexiglass so
it would match the brood stock tank. I am glad I had this new tank hooked to my system because
people brought us more than twenty new strains that we did not have.
The new tank is 36 inches long, 18 inches wide
and 12 inches deep. I also added a 20 gallon
sump next to the other sumps in the stand
below the 150 gallon tank. Part of the water
from the 150 gallon reef flows into the new
sump, and a Maxi-Jet 1000 lifts the water into
the new cutting tank. I have added plastic racks
with 1 inch holes to both of the new tanks.
The cutting tank has 2 power compact lights
that Tom Frakes gave us. The lower sump has
4 - 2 foot VHO bulbs. The water enters the new
TM
cutting tank through an Ocean Motion wave
maker that turns the incoming water in an arc. I
added two Maxi-Jet 1000s to the left end of the
tank.
This tank fit into the space between the wall and the
150 gallon tank so I only had to finish the front of the
stand with oak. I made the stand from 2 by 8 pine.
The tank is made from 3/8 inch Plexiglass. I was an
antique refinisher for 17 years and I had not built too
many things since I got out of college the last time in
1984. Sally Jo had never even seen me change
many light bulbs so she was quite surprised to find
this new aquarium in my office on Monday. It was
just a sheet of plastic when she left Friday night. I
quess it just took me 14 years to get over the burn
out from 17 years of making and repairing furniture:)
Now that I have the building bug, I have started to
buy power tools, and I am going to build a shop.
Plexiglass is a fun material to work with, and I will
share all of the new projects as I build them. The
only tools you will need for the project is a table saw
and drill.
I used the extra Plexiglass to make 3 racks to
hold the corals. Each rack is 4 inches wide. For
this tank I just added 4 legs to racks. I made each
rack 2 inches taller the one in front of it. I used a
Forstner bit to drill the 1 inch holes that hold the
reef plugs.
This picture shows some of the new sps corals
that came in during the seminar. THANK YOU
ALL for the great gifts. These corals were placed
in the new tank just 48 hours after the tank was
filled. Attaching a cutting tank to your brood stock
tanks is one of the fastest ways to expand your
new farm. The two new tanks increased the total
volume of this system by over 70 gallons so the
brood stock tank will be more stable.
You can use these plans
to make make any size
aquarium. The trick to
planning your cutting list
is that you add the two
thickness's of plastic
together and subtract
that from any place you
need to.
In this drawing the front
and back pieces set on
top of the bottom piece
so I subtract 3/4 inch
from the ends. You can
order the Plexiglass
precut if you do not have
a table saw. I always
make the bottom piece
the size of the finished
tank. The other pieces
are glued on top of the
bottom piece for extra
support.
As we learn to produce
corals we are making our
new tanks shallower
because the light is used
better, and we can stack
several tanks on one
stand. Some of our
newest cutting tanks are
only 4 inches deep.
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www.professionalplastics.com
MATERIALS
1. Plexiglass cut to size
2. 4 oz. can of thin acrylic cement
3. a needle squeeze bottle
4. 2 oz. tube of thick filling type
acrylic cement
5. electrical tape
6. sand paper
The small needle squeeze bottle will
be used to apply the cement by
squriting it betwwen the pieces of
plastic after they have been taped
together.
I like to use electrical tape because I
can stretch it to apply even pressure
as the cement dries. The tube of thick
filling type acrylic cement is used to
fill any small spaces left by not
having straight cuts. This will not be a
problem if you order the plastic
precut.
GETTING STARTED
The first thing you need to do is remove the
paper from all of edges you will be gluing. By
not taking the paper off of the rest of the plastic
you avoid scratching the centers of the pieces
while you are working on the aquarium. I had
already removed the tape when I remembered
to take some pictures;)
The best way to tape the tank together is to
have a helper hold the sides while you put 3
pieces of tape under the bottom. I often do this
job alone so I add the pieces of tape to the
under side of the bottom and leave 1/2 of the
tape sticking out. I then turn the bottom back
over so the tape is laying out with the sticky
side up. The best way to do taping in a hurry is
a trick I learned from one of the many fine
craftsmen I have worked for. With a razor
blade you can make a cut across the roll of
tape so that each time you unroll a piece it is
already cut.
Plexiglass-Acrylic Sheet – Order Online at
www.professionalplastics.com
After the tank is glued together you just run the
needle bottle full of cement down each edge
that you are gluing. You will see that the space
between the two pieces of plastic becomes
clear as the cement melts the plastic. Be very
careful that you do not get any glue on the rest
of the plastic because it will damage the
surface. If you are making a tank with a sump it
is better to practice on the sump first. The
sump will not be veiwed so any mistakes you
make on it can be corrected on the main tank.
It is better if you do not need the thick cement,
but I often run a bead of it inside of all seems.
This extra cement will fill any leaks that are
caused by the uneven edges. If I am making a
show tank I do not use this thick cement. The
joints will very strong if all of edges are water
tight.
When the tank is sealed I add a piece of plastic
that is one inch wide around the top. This piece
of plastic makes the sides stronger so they do
not bow when the tank is filled. You can see
this top molding in the pictures of the finished
tank.
There are several ways to finish the edges of
the tank. Sand paper is the safest way to round
the outside edges. I use 200 grit and then
finish with a 400 grit wet and dry paper. You
can also finish the edges with a blow torch, but
I am sure you will want to practice on some
scraps first.
Let the tank dry in a warm room for 24 hours
before you fill it with fresh water. If there are
any leaks you can apply a bead of thick
cement to the inside seam.
Plexiglass-Acrylic Sheet – Order Online at
www.professionalplastics.com
There are many ways to plumb your
tank. This cutting tank is in my office
so I used clear acrylic tubes. I went to
the plastic wholesaler and choose a
piece of 1 inch plastic tube that fit into
a piece of 1 1/2 inch tube. The
smaller tube fit into the larger one
very tightly. By sanding the 1 inch
tube to a slight taper I made a good
fitting. I stopped by the hardware
store and found a PVC fitting for i
inch pipe that fit into the larger clear
tube very well.
I drilled a 1 inch hole in the back
corner of the tank. This hole in the
bottom was just big enough to glue a
2 inch piece of the 1 1/2 inch tubing
over. I turned the tank over and glued
a matching piece to the bottom. I cut
the 1 inch pipe so that when it was
locked into the larger pipe it reached
just to the desired water level.
I used the table saw to cut 8 slots into
the 1 inch stand pipe so it looked like
a clock face.
This picture shows how I added the top
pieces around the inside of the tank. I
made two T shaped braces from plastic to
hold the new Aquarium Systems power
compact lights in place. One of these lights
is an Actinic and the other one is a daylight
bulb that is about 6000 K.
One thing I have to say this system of
lighting is that it EASY to set up. Just take
the lights out of the box and plug them in. I
spent about 3 hours wiring the 4 - 24 inch
VHO bulbs in the other tank. I will now be
able to test the VHO - Icecap lights with
the Power compacts.
You can see how I mounted the 2 Maxi-Jet
1000 power heads in the right end of the
tank. All of the corals are doing very well
as the next picture shows.
Plexiglass-Acrylic Sheet – Order Online at
www.professionalplastics.com